Economic Impact Archives - Page 98 of 301

US restaurants seek more help as COVID-19 struggles continue

July 17, 2020 — The United States government needs to take immediate action to stabilize restaurants, an industry group said, even as seafood restaurants shut down or stop paying rent.

On 15 July, the National Restaurant Association (NRA) sent its “Blueprint for Restaurant Revival” to Congress. The comprehensive policy and legislative plan outlines “specific and immediate action the federal government should take to stabilize the industry in the short-term and set the foundation for long-term rebuilding,” the NRA said in a press release.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

US shrimp market still hard to predict amid “COVID-19 chaos”

July 15, 2020 — Several months into the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. shrimp market remains hard to nail down, as ever-shifting market conditions continue to make it difficult to predict where prices and demand will end up.

As early as April, experts were predicting that the shrimp supply chain would see impacts into the summer months as COVID-19 related lockdowns and disruptions hit both supplies and the amount of shrimp demanded in the U.S.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Coronavirus has Americans hooked on canned tuna, and producers are playing catch up

July 15, 2020 — Tuna fish has surged in popularity thanks to pantry loading during the coronavirus pandemic, but producers of the canned fish are dealing with higher prices and other challenges that are making it difficult to keep up with the increased demand.

Americans have been buying more canned tuna during the economic downturn, in part because it is one of the cheapest proteins on the market, costing as little as $1 for a 5-ounce can. Bumble Bee Foods said sales of canned and pouched tuna jumped as much as 100% from mid-March to early April, while Costco Wholesale Corp. put limits earlier this year on how many tuna containers a customer could purchase.

Even after the initial feeding frenzy, canned tuna producers say sales for these products have remained significantly higher than a year earlier.

Companies have been able to keep retail prices steady for tuna so far, even though average wholesale prices for tuna were up 41% from a year earlier in the year through May after reaching decade lows late last year, according to data from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Prices vary depending on where the fish is bought. Skipjack tuna purchased in Bangkok cost $1,200 a metric ton in June, up 14% from December 2019 but down from a peak of $1,500 in March, according to data from Thai Union Group, a global seafood-based food producer that owns the Chicken of the Sea canned tuna brand.

Read the full story at Fox Business

Aquaculture’s Role in Nutrition in the COVID-19 Era

July 14, 2020 — Aquaculture, the relatively young but fast-growing industry of farming of fish and other marine life, now produces around half of all seafood consumed by humans.

A new paper from American University published today examines the economics of an aquaculture industry of the future that is simultaneously environmentally sustainable and nutritious for the nearly 1 billion people worldwide who depend on it for health and livelihoods.

Of the scenarios the paper discusses, included are two approaches that illustrate what aquaculture might look like if nations refocus inward for food and nutrition security in the COVID-19 era.

“Seafood is essential to meeting global food and nutrition security goals,” said Jessica Gephart, the paper’s primary author and an assistant professor of environmental science at American University. “Under what circumstances, and with what policies, can we maximize aquaculture for its nutrition benefits and sustainability for all who rely on seafood?”

This is a challenging question to answer, especially in the COVID-19 era. As the pandemic is still unfolding, the full scope of long-term damage to food systems is unknown, the paper notes. Yet, the aquaculture industry is suffering major setbacks, as some exports are being halted, workers are being laid off, demand has dramatically decreased, production units are incurring large losses and some countries are reconsidering their reliance on foreign seafood. The authors note that such setbacks “can be particularly long-lasting for a budding sector, with many young farms that potentially lack the capital to weather the storm and the political clout to secure sufficient recovery aid.”

The demand for seafood is expected to increase significantly by 2050, the paper notes, if historical trends in income and population growth, urbanization, and diets are maintained. This has prompted researchers to contemplate the future role of aquaculture in meeting demand and supporting nutrition needs. “Nutrition sensitivity” refers to the multiple benefits derived from diverse foods, including improving nutrition, valuing the social significance of food, and supporting livelihoods.

Read the full story at Environment Coastal & Offshore

As Beach Towns Open, Businesses Are Short Foreign Workers

July 13, 2020 — At this time of the year, The Friendly Fisherman on Cape Cod is usually bustling with foreign students clearing tables and helping prepare orders of clam strips or fish and chips.

But because of a freeze on visas, Janet Demetri won’t be employing the 20 or so workers this summer. So as the crowds rush back, Demetri must work with nine employees for her restaurant and market — forcing her to shutter the business twice a week.

“It’s really disturbing because we are really busy,” said Demetri. “We can’t keep up once the doors are open.”

“The work that people on H-2B visas do or on J-1 summer work travel is not something that is alien to Americans,” said Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, which advocates for restrictions. “Those jobs are already mostly done by Americans whether its landscaping, making beds or scooping ice cream. The employers are just going to have to up their game in recruitment because there are 20 million people who are unemployed whom they could be drawing from.”

Mark Carchidi, whose company Antioch Associates USA II Inc. processes paperwork for H-2B visas on the East Coast, said businesses he works with were counting on an additional 30,000 visas this year beyond the 66,000 already allowed under the program.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at The New York Times

Seafood Industry Sinking From Virus Fallout Pleads for Bailouts

July 10, 2020 — Seafood processors and fishers struggling with falling prices and disappearing markets during the coronavirus pandemic are pushing for federal bailouts following a government directive to send aid to New England’s lobster industry.

“We’re all scared. We’ve got tons of money wrapped up in these businesses,” said Nick Muto, the Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance chairman and an independent small-boat captain dealing in groundfish and lobster. “We’re definitely hoping for some help here from the federal government,” Muto added. “But I’m leery to bet on it.”

Restaurant closures, mandated by local officials nationwide to slow the rate of infection, decimated seafood vendors’ sales. Now, some states beginning to relax restrictions are seeing a resurgence of Covid-19 cases—just as the industry tries to recoup its losses.

Read the full story at Bloomberg Law

Plant-based tuna brand Good Catch takes on fish burgers, crab cakes with frozen line

July 10, 2020 — Gathered Foods, makers of Good Catch plant-based seafood alternative products, on Thursday, announced the launch of new frozen products that go beyond its tuna.

The company has launched New England Style Plant-Based Crab Cakes, Thai Style Plant-Based Fish Cakes, and Classic Style Plant-Based Fish Burgers.

This product extension is the second evolution from the plant-based seafood brand, according to the company.

The plant-based category — seafood and other proteins — is now worth $5 billion (€4.1 billion) and retail sales of plant-based foods grew 11 percent in 2019 versus 2 percent for the overall retail food market, according to figures from the Plant Based Foods Association.

Read the full story at IntraFish

Seafood stimulus: Cash flow and connections for rising stars

July 9, 2020 — From two corners of the seafood sector this week came new projects to encourage industry exploration and expansion. Bristol Seafood and the Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers each paved the way for new funding streams to promote the U.S. seafood sector’s diversity and growth.

Bristol Seafood announced it opened an office at the New England Ocean Cluster in Portland, Maine, and founded sponsorship of a program to support under-represented blue economy entrepreneurs.

Inclusion in the Blue Economy will provide dedicated workspace at the New England Ocean Cluster House as well as mentorship opportunities for entrepreneurs, focusing on women, people of color, and individuals from non-marine industries who are passionate about building responsible marine-related businesses.

“Innovation and inclusion are two essential parts of our culture,” said Peter Handy, Bristol Seafood’s president and CEO. “Our presence at the New England Ocean Cluster and our sponsorship to support under-represented entrepreneurs aligns with our mission to make seafood America’s favorite protein.”

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Pandemic’s effect on global seafood industry demand and pricing will be long-lasting, report says

July 8, 2020 — The global seafood industry will experience lasting impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic, including reduced demand and pricing.

That is the conclusion of the State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture report produced every two years by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the only report that tracks global fisheries and food trends.

This year it included a special focus on the pandemic which has toppled seafood markets and supply chains around the world. The report forecasts that global seafood production will be down 1.7 percent (6.6 billion pounds) and the trade value of seafood will decrease by nearly $6 billion.

Of that, wild capture fisheries are projected to decrease by 2 percent (nearly 4.2 billion pounds), while aquaculture production is expected to decrease by 1.4 percent (2.6 million pounds).

Read the full story at the Anchorage Daily News

Can New England’s cod fishing industry survive?

July 6, 2020 — It’s said cod were once so plentiful in New England they would throw themselves into a boat. It’s said you could walk across their backs to shore.

Gloucester, Massachusetts, grew up around cod. The waterfront teemed with boats and fishermen, heaps of fish thrashing in wire baskets. Boats were inherited from fathers and shipyards boasted of operating since 1684. As late as the 1980s, the cod were so abundant and large (30-50lb each) that the fishermen still brought in big hauls. Cod remains the state fish of Massachusetts.

Today, you’re unlikely to find fresh Atlantic cod in any American food shop. The vast majority of the cod for sale is frozen, shipped in from Norway or Iceland. New England’s cod population has been diminished by new fishing technology, too many boats and foreign vessels, and poor management decisions. Both major stocks of North Atlantic cod in US waters – the Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank cod – are overfished. With the climate crisis warming waters and disrupting cod spawning behaviour and food sources, many scientists wonder if the stocks will survive at all.

In Gloucester, that has meant regulation to protect the stocks – including catch limits, monitoring and no-fishing zones. These have placed a burden on fishermen, many of whom dispute the scientific data, creating tension between some scientists and fishermen and threatening the identity of person and place in a town where culture and economy were, for centuries, intertwined around cod.

Read the full story at The Guardian